OverDrive New Titles

Bitter Orange : A Novel

Fuller, Claire


<b>An NPR Best Book of the Year<br></b><br><b>“Unsettling and eerie, <i>Bitter Orange</i> is an ideal chiller.” ―<i>Time</i> Magazine<br></b><br><b>From the author of <i>Our Endless Numbered Days </i>and <i>Swimming Lessons</i>, <i>Bitter Orange</i> is a seductive psychological portrait, a keyhole into the dangers of longing and how far a woman might go to escape her past.</b><br>From the attic of Lyntons, a dilapidated English country mansion, Frances Jellico sees them―Cara first: dark and beautiful, then Peter: striking and serious. The couple is spending the summer of 1969 in the rooms below hers while Frances is researching the architecture in the surrounding gardens. But she’s distracted. Beneath a floorboard in her bathroom, she finds a peephole that gives her access to her neighbors' private lives. To Frances’s surprise, Cara and Peter are keen to get to know her. It is the first occasion she has had anybody to call a friend, and before long they are spending every day together: eating lavish dinners, drinking bottle after bottle of wine, and smoking cigarettes until the ash piles up on the crumbling furniture. Frances is dazzled. But as the hot summer rolls lazily on, it becomes clear that not everything is right between Cara and Peter. The stories that Cara tells don’t quite add up, and as Frances becomes increasingly entangled in the lives of the glamorous, hedonistic couple, the boundaries between truth and lies, right and wrong, begin to blur. Amid the decadence, a small crime brings on a bigger one: a crime so terrible that it will brand their lives forever.
Date Published:2018

An NPR Best Book of the Year “Unsettling and eerie, Bitter Orange is an ideal chiller.” ―Time Magazine From the author of Our Endless Numbered Days and Swimming Lessons, Bitter Orange is a seductive psychological portrait, a keyhole into the dangers of longing and how far a woman might go to escape her past. From the attic of Lyntons, a dilapidated English country mansion, Frances Jellico sees them―Cara first: dark and beautiful, then Peter: striking and serious. The couple is spending the summer of 1969 in the rooms below hers while Frances is researching the architecture in the surrounding gardens. But she’s distracted. Beneath a floorboard in her bathroom, she finds a peephole that gives her access to her neighbors' private lives. To Frances’s surprise, Cara and Peter are keen to get to know her. It is the first occasion she has had anybody to call a friend, and before long they are spending every day together: eating lavish dinners, drinking bottle after bottle of wine, and smoking cigarettes until the ash piles up on the crumbling furniture. Frances is dazzled. But as the hot summer rolls lazily on, it becomes clear that not everything is right between Cara and Peter. The stories that Cara tells don’t quite add up, and as Frances becomes increasingly entangled in the lives of the glamorous, hedonistic couple, the boundaries between truth and lies, right and wrong, begin to blur. Amid the decadence, a small crime brings on a bigger one: a crime so terrible that it will brand their lives forever.

Date Published:2018

The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride : Murray McBride, #1

Siple, Joe


<p><strong>Maxy Awards "BOOK OF THE YEAR" and </strong><strong>USA Today</strong><strong> Bestseller</strong></p><p><strong>He's one hundred years old. He's ready to die.</strong><br><strong>Then he meets a boy struggling to live.</strong></p><p>Murray McBride has outlived his friends, his career, and the love of his life. At one hundred, he's tired—of pills, of loneliness, of waking to another empty day.</p><p>Jason Cashman is ten, and his failing heart may not give him many tomorrows.</p><p>When Murray discovers Jason's handwritten list—Five Things I Want to Do Before My Heart Dies—something long dormant stirs. If Jason's time is short, Murray decides it won't be small.</p><p>From hitting a home run in a major league stadium...<br>To giving Jason's mother a reason to smile again...<br>To attempting something that feels like real magic...</p><p>What begins as a simple promise becomes an unforgettable journey of friendship, courage, and second chances. As the clock ticks for them both, Murray must face his own regrets and decide whether it's truly too late to matter.</p><p>Tender, funny, and deeply moving, <strong>The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride</strong> is a life-affirming story about love, loss, and the power of keeping a promise.</p><p>If you loved A Man Called Ove or The Five People You Meet in Heaven, this heartfelt novel will stay with you long after the final page.<br> </p><li>#1 Amazon Bestseller Coming of Age</li><li>#1 Amazon Bestseller Literary Fiction</li><li>#1 Amazon Bestseller Biographical Literary Fiction</li><li>#1 Amazon Bestseller American Humorous Fiction</li><li>#1 Amazon Bestseller Classic American Fiction</li>
Date Published:2018

Maxy Awards "BOOK OF THE YEAR" and USA Today BestsellerHe's one hundred years old. He's ready to die. Then he meets a boy struggling to live.Murray McBride has outlived his friends, his career, and the love of his life. At one hundred, he's tired—of pills, of loneliness, of waking to another empty day.Jason Cashman is ten, and his failing heart may not give him many tomorrows.When Murray discovers Jason's handwritten list—Five Things I Want to Do Before My Heart Dies—something long dormant stirs. If Jason's time is short, Murray decides it won't be small.From hitting a home run in a major league stadium... To giving Jason's mother a reason to smile again... To attempting something that feels like real magic...What begins as a simple promise becomes an unforgettable journey of friendship, courage, and second chances. As the clock ticks for them both, Murray must face his own regrets and decide whether it's truly too late to matter.Tender, funny, and deeply moving, The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride is a life-affirming story about love, loss, and the power of keeping a promise.If you loved A Man Called Ove or The Five People You Meet in Heaven, this heartfelt novel will stay with you long after the final page. <li>#1 Amazon Bestseller Coming of Age</li><li>#1 Amazon Bestseller Literary Fiction</li><li>#1 Amazon Bestseller Biographical Literary Fiction</li><li>#1 Amazon Bestseller American Humorous Fiction</li><li>#1 Amazon Bestseller Classic American Fiction</li>

Date Published:2018

What Set Me Free (The Story That Inspired the Major Motion Picture Brian Banks) : A True Story of Wrongful Conviction, a Dream Deferred, and a Man Redeemed

Banks, Brian


<b>The story that inspired the film <i>Brian Banks</i></b><BR> <BR><b>Discover the unforgettable and inspiring true story of a young man who was wrongfully convicted as a teenager and imprisoned for more than five years, only to emerge with his spirit unbroken and determined to achieve his dream of playing in the NFL.</b><BR>At age sixteen, Brian Banks was a nationally recruited All-American Football player, ranked eleventh in the nation as a linebacker. Before his seventeenth birthday, he was in jail, awaiting trial for a heinous crime he did not commit.<BR> <BR> Although Brian was innocent, his attorney advised him that as a young black man accused of rape, he stood no chance of winning his case at trial. Especially since he would be tried as an adult. Facing a possible sentence of forty-one years to life, Brian agreed to take a plea deal—and a judge sentenced him to six years in prison.<BR> <BR> At first, Brian was filled with fear, rage, and anger as he reflected on the direction his life had turned and the unjust system that had imprisoned him. Brian was surrounded by darkness, until he had epiphany that would change his life forever. From that moment on, he made the choice to shed the bitterness and anger he felt, and focus only on the things he had the power to control. He approached his remaining years in prison with a newfound resolve, studying spirituality, improving his social and writing skills, and taking giant leaps on his journey toward enlightenment.<BR> <BR> When Brian emerged from prison with five years of parole still in front of him, he was determined to rebuild his life and finally prove his innocence. Three months before his parole was set to expire, armed with a shocking recantation from his accuser and the help of the California Innocence Project, the truth about his unjust incarceration came out and he was exonerated. Finally free, Brian sought to recapture a dream once stripped away: to play for the NFL. And at age twenty-eight, he made that dream come true.<BR> <BR> Perfect for fans of <i>Just Mercy</i>, <i>I Beat the Odds</i>, and <i>Infinite Hope</i>, this powerful memoir is a deep dive into the injustices of the American justice system, a soul-stirring celebration of the resilience of the human spirit, and an inspiring call to hold fast to our dreams.
Date Published:2019

*The story that inspired the film Brian Banks* Discover the unforgettable and inspiring true story of a young man who was wrongfully convicted as a teenager and imprisoned for more than five years, only to emerge with his spirit unbroken and determined to achieve his dream of playing in the NFL. At age sixteen, Brian Banks was a nationally recruited All-American Football player, ranked eleventh in the nation as a linebacker. Before his seventeenth birthday, he was in jail, awaiting trial for a heinous crime he did not commit. Although Brian was innocent, his attorney advised him that as a young black man accused of rape, he stood no chance of winning his case at trial. Especially since he would be tried as an adult. Facing a possible sentence of forty-one years to life, Brian agreed to take a plea deal—and a judge sentenced him to six years in prison. At first, Brian was filled with fear, rage, and anger as he reflected on the direction his life had turned and the unjust system that had imprisoned him. Brian was surrounded by darkness, until he had epiphany that would change his life forever. From that moment on, he made the choice to shed the bitterness and anger he felt, and focus only on the things he had the power to control. He approached his remaining years in prison with a newfound resolve, studying spirituality, improving his social and writing skills, and taking giant leaps on his journey toward enlightenment. When Brian emerged from prison with five years of parole still in front of him, he was determined to rebuild his life and finally prove his innocence. Three months before his parole was set to expire, armed with a shocking recantation from his accuser and the help of the California Innocence Project, the truth about his unjust incarceration came out and he was exonerated. Finally free, Brian sought to recapture a dream once stripped away: to play for the NFL. And at age twenty-eight, he made that dream come true. Perfect for fans of Just Mercy, I Beat the Odds, and Infinite Hope, this powerful memoir is a deep dive into the injustices of the American justice system, a soul-stirring celebration of the resilience of the human spirit, and an inspiring call to hold fast to our dreams.

Date Published:2019

The Orphan Collector : A Heroic Novel of Survival During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic

Wiseman, Ellen Marie


<B><B>Instant New York Times Bestseller</B><BR /><I>From the internationally bestselling author of </I></B><B>What She Left Behind comes <I>a gripping and powerful tale of upheaval—a heartbreaking saga of resilience and hope perfect for fans of Beatriz Williams and Kristin Hannah—set in Philadelphia during the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak—the deadly pandemic that went on to infect one-third of the world's population...</I></B><BR /><B>"Readers will not be able to help making comparisons to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how little has changed since 1918. Wiseman has written a touching tale of loss, survival, and perseverance with some light fantastical elements. Highly recommended." <BR /> —<I>Booklist</I></B><BR /><B>"An immersive historical tale with chilling twists and turns. Beautifully told and richly imagined."<BR /> —Stephanie Dray, </B><I><B>New York Times</B></I><B> bestselling author of </B><I><B>America's First Daughter</B></I><BR /> In the fall of 1918, thirteen-year-old German immigrant Pia Lange longs to be far from Philadelphia's overcrowded slums and the anti-immigrant sentiment that compelled her father to enlist in the U.S. Army. But as her city celebrates the end of war, an even more urgent threat arrives: the Spanish flu. Funeral crepe and quarantine signs appear on doors as victims drop dead in the streets and desperate survivors wear white masks to ward off illness. When food runs out in the cramped tenement she calls home, Pia must venture alone into the quarantined city in search of supplies, leaving her baby brothers behind.<BR /> <BR /> Bernice Groves has become lost in grief and bitterness since her baby died from the Spanish flu. Watching Pia leave her brothers alone, Bernice makes a shocking, life-altering decision. It becomes her sinister mission to tear families apart when they're at their most vulnerable, planning to transform the city's orphans and immigrant children into what she feels are "true Americans."<BR /> <BR /> Waking in a makeshift hospital days after collapsing in the street, Pia is frantic to return home. Instead, she is taken to St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum – the first step in a long and arduous journey. As Bernice plots to keep the truth hidden at any cost in the months and years that follow, Pia must confront her own shame and fear, risking everything to see justice – and love – triumph at last. Powerful, harrowing, and ultimately exultant, <I>The Orphan Collector </I>is a story of love, resilience, and the lengths we will go to protect those who need us most.<BR /> "Wiseman's writing is superb, and her descriptions of life during the Spanish Flu epidemic are chilling. Well-researched and impossible to put down, this is an emotional tug-of-war played out brilliantly on the pages and in readers' hearts."<BR /> —<B><I>The Historical Novels Review, </I>EDITOR'S CHOICE </B><BR /> <BR /> "Wiseman's depiction of the horrifying spread of the Spanish flu is eerily reminiscent of the present day and resonates with realistic depictions of suffering, particularly among the poorer immigrant population."<BR /> —<B><I>Publishers Weekly </I></B>(Boxed Review)<BR /> <BR /> "Reading the novel in the time of COVID-19 adds an even greater resonance, and horror, to the description of the fatal spread of that 1918 flu."<BR /> —<B><I>Kirkus</I></B><B><I> Review</I></B><BR /> <BR /> "An emotional roller coaster...I felt Pia's strength, courage, guilt, and grief come through the pages clear as day."<BR /> —<B>The Seattle Book Review</B><BR />
Date Published:2020

Instant New York Times Bestseller From the internationally bestselling author of What She Left Behind comes a gripping and powerful tale of upheaval—a heartbreaking saga of resilience and hope perfect for fans of Beatriz Williams and Kristin Hannah—set in Philadelphia during the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak—the deadly pandemic that went on to infect one-third of the world's population... "Readers will not be able to help making comparisons to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how little has changed since 1918. Wiseman has written a touching tale of loss, survival, and perseverance with some light fantastical elements. Highly recommended." —Booklist "An immersive historical tale with chilling twists and turns. Beautifully told and richly imagined." —Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling author of America's First Daughter In the fall of 1918, thirteen-year-old German immigrant Pia Lange longs to be far from Philadelphia's overcrowded slums and the anti-immigrant sentiment that compelled her father to enlist in the U.S. Army. But as her city celebrates the end of war, an even more urgent threat arrives: the Spanish flu. Funeral crepe and quarantine signs appear on doors as victims drop dead in the streets and desperate survivors wear white masks to ward off illness. When food runs out in the cramped tenement she calls home, Pia must venture alone into the quarantined city in search of supplies, leaving her baby brothers behind. Bernice Groves has become lost in grief and bitterness since her baby died from the Spanish flu. Watching Pia leave her brothers alone, Bernice makes a shocking, life-altering decision. It becomes her sinister mission to tear families apart when they're at their most vulnerable, planning to transform the city's orphans and immigrant children into what she feels are "true Americans." Waking in a makeshift hospital days after collapsing in the street, Pia is frantic to return home. Instead, she is taken to St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum – the first step in a long and arduous journey. As Bernice plots to keep the truth hidden at any cost in the months and years that follow, Pia must confront her own shame and fear, risking everything to see justice – and love – triumph at last. Powerful, harrowing, and ultimately exultant, The Orphan Collector is a story of love, resilience, and the lengths we will go to protect those who need us most. "Wiseman's writing is superb, and her descriptions of life during the Spanish Flu epidemic are chilling. Well-researched and impossible to put down, this is an emotional tug-of-war played out brilliantly on the pages and in readers' hearts." —The Historical Novels Review, EDITOR'S CHOICE "Wiseman's depiction of the horrifying spread of the Spanish flu is eerily reminiscent of the present day and resonates with realistic depictions of suffering, particularly among the poorer immigrant population." —Publishers Weekly (Boxed Review) "Reading the novel in the time of COVID-19 adds an even greater resonance, and horror, to the description of the fatal spread of that 1918 flu." —Kirkus Review "An emotional roller coaster...I felt Pia's strength, courage, guilt, and grief come through the pages clear as day." —The Seattle Book Review

Date Published:2020

GO AS a RIVER : A Novel

Read, Shelley


<p><strong>INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER</strong></p><p><strong>Set amid Colorado's wild beauty, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a resilient young woman whose life is changed forever by one chance encounter. A tragic and uplifting novel of love and loss, family and survival—and hope—for readers of Great Circle, The Four Winds, and Where the Crawdads Sing.</strong></p><p>Seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash runs the household on her family's peach farm in the small ranch town of Iola, Colorado—the sole surviving female in a family of troubled men. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a mysterious past, displaced from his tribal land and determined to live as he chooses.</p><p>Victoria encounters Will by chance on a street corner, a meeting that profoundly alters both of their young lives, unknowingly igniting as much passion as danger. When tragedy strikes, Victoria leaves the only life she has ever known. She flees into the surrounding mountains where she struggles to survive in the wilderness with no clear notion of what her future will bring. As the seasons change, she also charts the changes in herself, finding in the beautiful but harsh landscape the meaning and strength to move forward and rebuild all that she has lost, even as the Gunnison River threatens to submerge her homeland—its ranches, farms, and the beloved peach orchard that has been in her family for generations.</p><p>Inspired by true events surrounding the destruction of the town of Iola in the 1960s, Go as a River is a story of deeply held love in the face of hardship and loss, but also of finding courage, resilience, friendship, and, finally, home—where least expected. This stunning debut explores what it means to lead your life as if it were a river—gathering and flowing, finding a way forward even when a river is dammed.</p>
Date Published:2023

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERSet amid Colorado's wild beauty, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a resilient young woman whose life is changed forever by one chance encounter. A tragic and uplifting novel of love and loss, family and survival—and hope—for readers of Great Circle, The Four Winds, and Where the Crawdads Sing.Seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash runs the household on her family's peach farm in the small ranch town of Iola, Colorado—the sole surviving female in a family of troubled men. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a mysterious past, displaced from his tribal land and determined to live as he chooses.Victoria encounters Will by chance on a street corner, a meeting that profoundly alters both of their young lives, unknowingly igniting as much passion as danger. When tragedy strikes, Victoria leaves the only life she has ever known. She flees into the surrounding mountains where she struggles to survive in the wilderness with no clear notion of what her future will bring. As the seasons change, she also charts the changes in herself, finding in the beautiful but harsh landscape the meaning and strength to move forward and rebuild all that she has lost, even as the Gunnison River threatens to submerge her homeland—its ranches, farms, and the beloved peach orchard that has been in her family for generations.Inspired by true events surrounding the destruction of the town of Iola in the 1960s, Go as a River is a story of deeply held love in the face of hardship and loss, but also of finding courage, resilience, friendship, and, finally, home—where least expected. This stunning debut explores what it means to lead your life as if it were a river—gathering and flowing, finding a way forward even when a river is dammed.

Date Published:2023

The Water Is Wide

Conroy, Pat


<p><strong>"A powerfully moving book . . . You will laugh, you will weep, you will be proud and you will rail." —Charleston News and Courier</strong></p><p>Yamacraw Island was haunting, nearly deserted, and beautiful. Separated from the mainland of South Carolina by a wide tidal river, it was accessible only by boat. But for the handful of families that lived on Yamacraw, America was a world away. For years these families lived proudly from the sea until waste from industry destroyed the oyster beds essential to their very existence. Already poor, they knew they would have to face an uncertain future unless, somehow, they learned a new life. But they needed someone to teach them, and their rundown schoolhouse had no teacher.</p><p>The Water Is Wide is Pat Conroy's extraordinary memoir based on his experience as one of two teachers in a two-room schoolhouse, working with children the world had pretty much forgotten. It was a year that changed his life, and one that introduced a group of poor Black children to a world they did not know existed.</p><p><strong>"A hell of a good story." —The New York Times</strong></p><p><strong>"[Pat] Conroy cuts through his experiences with a sharp edge of irony. . . . He brings emotion, writing talent and anger to his story." —Baltimore Sun</strong></p>
Date Published:2023

"A powerfully moving book . . . You will laugh, you will weep, you will be proud and you will rail." —Charleston News and CourierYamacraw Island was haunting, nearly deserted, and beautiful. Separated from the mainland of South Carolina by a wide tidal river, it was accessible only by boat. But for the handful of families that lived on Yamacraw, America was a world away. For years these families lived proudly from the sea until waste from industry destroyed the oyster beds essential to their very existence. Already poor, they knew they would have to face an uncertain future unless, somehow, they learned a new life. But they needed someone to teach them, and their rundown schoolhouse had no teacher.The Water Is Wide is Pat Conroy's extraordinary memoir based on his experience as one of two teachers in a two-room schoolhouse, working with children the world had pretty much forgotten. It was a year that changed his life, and one that introduced a group of poor Black children to a world they did not know existed."A hell of a good story." —The New York Times"[Pat] Conroy cuts through his experiences with a sharp edge of irony. . . . He brings emotion, writing talent and anger to his story." —Baltimore Sun

Date Published:2023

The Perfect Son

McFadden, Freida


Erika Cass has a perfect family and a perfect life. Until the evening when two detectives show up at her front door. A high school girl has vanished from Erika's quiet suburban neighborhood. The police suspect the worst—murder. And Erika's teenage son, Liam, was the last person to see the girl alive. Erika has always sensed something dark and disturbed in her seemingly perfect older child. She wants to believe he's innocent, but as the evidence mounts, she can't deny the truth—Liam may have done the unthinkable. Now she must ask herself: How far will she go to protect her son?
Date Published:2025

Erika Cass has a perfect family and a perfect life. Until the evening when two detectives show up at her front door. A high school girl has vanished from Erika's quiet suburban neighborhood. The police suspect the worst—murder. And Erika's teenage son, Liam, was the last person to see the girl alive. Erika has always sensed something dark and disturbed in her seemingly perfect older child. She wants to believe he's innocent, but as the evidence mounts, she can't deny the truth—Liam may have done the unthinkable. Now she must ask herself: How far will she go to protect her son?

Date Published:2025

The Situationship

Jimenez, Abby


<P><B>Find out how Maddy and Doug met in this sweet and hilarious short story from the #1 <I>New York Times</I> bestselling author of <I>Just for the Summer.</I></B></P><P> Travel nurse Maddy doesn't have time for a relationship, not even with the ruggedly handsome farmer who she feels a spark of attraction to. </P><P> Doug is a walking green flag. After a run in with Maddy thanks to the Wakan town mascot, Kevin Bacon the pig, he can't help but feel the spark too. </P><P> Even though she doesn't plan on staying in Minnesota forever, Maddy believes she and Doug can still have a fling… or maybe they’ll just find themselves in a situationship. </P><P> “The Situationship”<I></I>was originally published as a bonus chapter in the Target exclusive edition of <I>Just for the Summer</I>. This ebook original also includes a first look at Abby’s new release, <I>Say You’ll Remember Me</I>. </P>
Date Published:2024

Find out how Maddy and Doug met in this sweet and hilarious short story from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Just for the Summer. Travel nurse Maddy doesn't have time for a relationship, not even with the ruggedly handsome farmer who she feels a spark of attraction to. Doug is a walking green flag. After a run in with Maddy thanks to the Wakan town mascot, Kevin Bacon the pig, he can't help but feel the spark too. Even though she doesn't plan on staying in Minnesota forever, Maddy believes she and Doug can still have a fling… or maybe they’ll just find themselves in a situationship. “The Situationship”was originally published as a bonus chapter in the Target exclusive edition of Just for the Summer. This ebook original also includes a first look at Abby’s new release, Say You’ll Remember Me.

Date Published:2024

Theo of Golden : A Novel

Levi, Allen


<b>THE #1 <i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> BESTSELLING PHENONEMON</b><BR> <BR> <b>A Katie Couric Book Club Pick<li>A Jen Hatmaker Book Club Pick</b><BR> <BR> <b>"[A] word-of-mouth smash hit."</b> <b>—<i>The New York Times</i></b><BR> <BR> <b>"A treasure." —Hoda Kotb</b><BR>One spring morning, a stranger named Theo arrives in the small Southern city of Golden. He doesn't explain much about where he came from or why he's there—but when he visits the local coffeehouse, where pencil portraits of the people of Golden hang on the walls, he begins purchasing them, one at a time, and giving each portrait to the person depicted. In exchange, he asks only for the person's story. And so portrait by portrait, person by person, secrets are revealed, regrets are shared, and ordinary lives are profoundly altered.<BR>A story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen, Theo of Golden is an unforgettable novel about the power of generosity, the importance of connection, and the quiet miracles that happen when we choose kindness and wonder.
Date Published:2025

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING PHENONEMON A Katie Couric Book Club Pick<li>A Jen Hatmaker Book Club Pick "[A] word-of-mouth smash hit." —The New York Times "A treasure." —Hoda Kotb One spring morning, a stranger named Theo arrives in the small Southern city of Golden. He doesn't explain much about where he came from or why he's there—but when he visits the local coffeehouse, where pencil portraits of the people of Golden hang on the walls, he begins purchasing them, one at a time, and giving each portrait to the person depicted. In exchange, he asks only for the person's story. And so portrait by portrait, person by person, secrets are revealed, regrets are shared, and ordinary lives are profoundly altered. A story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen, Theo of Golden is an unforgettable novel about the power of generosity, the importance of connection, and the quiet miracles that happen when we choose kindness and wonder.

Date Published:2025